style file: a week in Boston!

last week, my entire family ascending upon Boston, MA for a very, very seriously major celebration... my sister graduated from Harvard Business School!!!

seriously impressive, right?  we were the proudest family in the history of the world, i'm pretty sure.  it was a long, hard 2 years of an insane amount of work, and my sister flew through it with composure and of course..her stunning beauty.  we took a ton of pictures through the week & had an incredibly fun weekend, filled with fun clothes, shopping, and celebrating!!

with my grandfather at the class day ceremony, where the COO of Facebook spoke. she was fantastic.

with mommy, post-ceremony.  (grandpa is photobombing!)  my dress, Moulinette Soeurs.  my mom's dress, J.Crew.

my sister and i with the John Harvard statue (she's really short!)

beautiful Harvard campus.

actual graduation day!  so proud of her!

my dress, Marc by Marc Jacobs. belt, Target.  my sister's outfit, ....HBS Graduation robes!

so proud of her!

out celebrating Steph!  my mom's dress, Michael Kors.

me and Tofie, my sister's dog, after some leashless running through Harvard Campus! top, lululemon.

such a happy boy after getting to run around without a leash!

poppin' bottles!  celebrating Steph's graduation & the start of my engineering grad school!

FIRST TRIP TO FENWAY!  as a very serious baseball fan, this was a lifelong dream come true!  it's a GREAT great great ball stadium...and as a Cubs fan... if the Cubs can't win...the Red Sox should.

in our new Red Sox shirts!  it was a great game - they were down 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth..and a walk-off 2 run homer won the game!  it was awesome!

all in all, it was an incredible weekend!  i've never been so proud of my sister, a Harvard MBA!  what an incredible accomplishment!  and i know she's reading this...so CONGRATS big sister!  such big things to come!!

xx

style file: this week's highlights, what i wore

last night, i was in my fav yoga class with Mary Dana (a fellow original chicago chick), and we were in ardha chandrasana, and suddenly, a great mix of a very old Smashing Pumpkins song came blasting through the speakers.  not only did this further affirm Mary Dana as my FAVORITE YOGA INSTRUCTOR EVER (seriously she's badass, she's tough, and she has the sickest playlists), but now i'm on a huge Smashing Pumpkins kick. remember how awesome their hot chick bass play, D'arcy, was?!  so 90's grunge rock.  but that's neither here nor there.

what's really important is that memorial day weekend is next weekend, my sister is graduating from Harvard Business School next week, and my time in New York is winding down faster than i could have imagined!  i'm taking these last few weeks to really soak it all in.  last weekend, i went to the Intrepid Museum (it was awesome, check it out!), and i've been really, really enjoying my runs along the river with the Statue of Liberty ahead of me.  it's something i used to take for granted, running with Lady Liberty cheering me on.  but now it seems oh-so-sweet.  anyways..on to clothes. the good stuff.

yay finally wore this KILLER skirt to work!  the color, the length...obsessed x1000.  skirt, J.Crew Collection. tank, Old Navy (don't judge, it's perfect). flats, J.Crew

casual half shirt tuck. my favorite red pants, ever.  twill denim, J Brand. denim oxford, J.Crew. oxford flats, stolen from a photoshoot. no shame.  sunglasses, Celine.

so i'm lucky enough to have a small assemblage of very talented men to cut my hair, and this was an impromptu haircut by one of my favorite people in the entire world, Pasquale.  of course, it doesn't really look like i got my hair cut, because that's the point. it should always be seamless. but he gave it the best movement....that thing where it just like..swings so perfectly.  i'm a lucky chick to have such talented friends.

what i've been listening to....

• Hot for Teacher - Van Halen
• Outta your Mind - B.o.B ft Nicki Minaj
• By Starlight - The Smashing Pumpkins
• Thirty-Three - The Smashing Pumpkins
• Sea of Love - Cat Power
• Make it Nasty - Make it Nasty
• 1977 - Ana Tijoux
• Everlong (Acoustic Version)  - The Foo Fighters
• Flower - Moby
• Machismo - Gomez

a beautiful weekend ahead in Manhattan, and then shipping up to Boston to see my sister graduate from Harvard Business School!  i'm a very proud little sister.  

enjoy the sunshine this weekend, you guys!

xx

i got to grow up with a mother who taught me to believe in me

it's an absolutely gorgeous, sunny Sunday in New York... can you think of a better day to honor the woman who gave you life?  i wanted to take this post as an opportunity to give my mom and my grandmother props ..and wish the the happiest of Mother's Days ever...especially since i can't be there in person!

first of all...i am an absolute dead ringer for my mother.  so that was the first thing she blessed me with.  her superior genetics.  she's a total betty and a obviously i am her clone..as you can see..

(in the middle.)

(far left, in that great pink dress)

that's her when she was my age.  no, you're not seeing that incorrectly.  that's not me.  it's my mom.  for real.

(us, at the tree in Rockefeller Center, 2011)

so everyone always says they have the best mom in the world.  but no really...i have the best mom.  as i've gotten older and matured into adulthood, i've realized how lucky i am to have her as my mommy.  she's my best friend, and everything good in me is from her.  

she has been my biggest cheerleader and best friend my entire life... always encouraging me to be myself and that "fitting in" was overrated..especially during my teenage years when i really struggled with being a little bit different.  i have confidence as a woman because of my mom always believing in me, always telling me i could accomplish anything, and that marching to my own beat was my best quality.  my mom taught me kindness, patience, grace, and strength...and most importantly...how to be a kind, patient, gracious, and strong woman..even under pressure.

my favorite thing in the entire world... is when i visit my mom's house...we have this great covered  porch attached to the house...and i love to get a latte with her and sit on the porch and gossip with her.  our dog sits with us, and we just talk for hours.  there is nothing in the entire world i'd rather do every day...than do that.  she's my mom ...but she's my bestie too.  

and then my Gramma too!

(me, gramma, and my sister Stephanie, holidays 2009)

how fierce is my Gramma?!  i'm super close with my Gramma..."G" as i always call her... and she's another incredible woman that i owe a lot too.  she was ALWAYS my biggest cheerleader, always encouraging me to take the risk, wear the crazy outfit, be a little different, kiss the cute boy, buy the tallest shoes... my Gramma loves to laugh, loves a good dirty joke...and there's nothing i love more than having lunch with her when i visit.  we call it Lunch Club.  some kids don't have good fortune of really getting to know their grandparents..and i've had the unbelievable luck to have a second set of parents in mine..and now to know them as an adult... it only gets sweeter.  my Gramma is truly a God-sent.  she wants nothing more than for me to be happy, and i'm so lucky to have her in my life.

so Happy Mother's Day to my mommy and my gramma...and to all the moms out there!  the world is a better place because of our mothers!

die another day

i have a confession.  before this weekend, i'd never seen a Bond movie.  i know, i know.  this is unthinkable.  but it's true.  i never got into it when i was young (beyond playing GoldenEye on N64..which you know you all did too), but then there was a bit of a (more recent) Bond marathon on, and i suddenly found myself hooked.  Daniel Craig's smoldering eyes, his bod... his eyes.

but more importantly, it piqued my interest in the elusive Bond Girl.  i started doing some research and HELLO i'm obsessed.  Honey Rider.  Pussy Galore.  Solitaire.  Fiona Volpe.  Holly Goodhead.  Stacey Sutton.  Jinx Johnson.  Miranda Frost.  Vesper Lynd.  all such total babes.  and their style?  classic Bond Girl...

i mean...good lord.

this is one of the newest Bond Girls for the upcoming Skyfall 007, due out in November.

okay so what defines a Bond Girl's style?  admittedly, it's a lot of time spent naked and in strappy bikinis.  true.  but ultimately a Bond Girl is sexy, dangerous, mysterious, fearless, and isn't afraid to show a little skin...

i imagine lots of cut outs, skin tight cocktail dresses, sexy fitted sheaths, plunging necklines, killer stilettos, and perhaps even a jumpsuit, for good measure.  and of course, no Bond Girl can go without her swimwear...be it a sexy white bikini or a plunge v-neck one-piece...all Bond Girls hit the beach with looks to kill...

from upper left: cutout dress, herve leger bandage gown. neimanmarcus.com - red long sleeve Herve Leger bandage cocktail dress.  shopbop.com - Victoria Beckham wool/silk blend sheath dress, net-a-porter.com - Herve Leger bikini jades24.com - Victoria's Secret plunge monokini victoriassecret.com - Zimmerman halter one-piece, saksfifthavenue.com - Tom Ford cat-eye Sunglasses tomford.com - Loures bow bikini, antropologie.com - Tom Ford Cherry Lush lipstick, tomford.com - Emanuel Ungaro silk gown, theoutnet.com - Tom Ford satin bow tie heel, tomford.com - Yves Saint Laurent chiffon jumpsuit, bergdorfgoodman.com

dorm chic - grad school style // wine + dine

such a nice Saturday, isn't it?  it's been a calm morning and afternoon consisting of a James Bond marathon (omg Daniel Craig... i can't handle it.  his eyes, the accent, his smirk... dying) and me..scouring the internet for things to spruce up my upcoming campus apartment.  again...no it's not a dorm, i can assure you of that...and this time, my focus has moved to my dining/kitchen situation!

the first thing i need is a little kitchen table.

i like this....square, functional, small enough.  the color is a little boring but i could make it work.  crateandbarrel.com $139

another option.i like that i could make it bigger...and i like the wood/white combo as well!  it seems fresh and bright, you know? target.com $130

what i really want is a little white kitchen table.  like this. but i hate circle tables.  i think round table tops are so super inefficient, especially in a small space.  but i do like this... target.com $149.99

for chairs...

these are perfect, regardless of which table i get.  target.com $119.99

for eating, drinking, and decorating...

love the color.  anthropologie.com $12-18

omg i love square plates.  i love minimalism. so crisp.  crateandbarrel.com $5.95

other than navy blue, yellow is another favorite color.  such cute little juice glasses.  anthropologie.com $8.00

a center of table decoration!  omg how great is this?  with a little collection of pillar candles on it? i love candles. candlelight is the best kind of light available.  abchome.com $80

and of course... the reusable coffee cups.  i'm a latte freak (although i'm currently attempting to be on a caffeine cleanse. i'm on day 2...doing well so far. not sure how long i'll hold out though.)  keep one at home and one in my office on campus.  cb2.com $10

now i know you're all like...what about wine glasses?  truth is... 1. i already have really nice wine glasses.  2. i really don't drink alcohol like, at all.  a glass of champagne here, a maker's mark w/ gingerale there..but even that's rare. 

eek the days of moving are approaching!  75 days until i pack it up and bounce! 

(not like i'm counting or anything.)

p.s. still watching Bond. Daniel Craig, marry me.  

p.p.s. I'll probably dress like a spy on Monday.  or a Bond Girl.

style file: this week's highlights, what i wore

happy may!  i can't believe we're already in the 5th month of the year!  so much going on, right?  warm weather is creeping it's way in (although April seemed warmer than May has been...) and i'm putting the pieces together for my move out to Purdue.  also, in two weeks, my sister graduates from Harvard!  i'm so proud of her and can't wait to see her accept her diploma and wear that fierce hood that denotes an MBA!

i've always been really obsessed with the advanced degree "hoods" that you get when you graduate.  when i attended my sister's college graduation (bachelors), i think i was 18..and my mom and i were like..what are those hoods they're wearing?! we wanted them.  so turns out... my sister will get one and i'm about to start my journey to get my own hood!  funny how things work out :)

saturday morning, 9 am, Equinox.  i was the first one there for class (Speedball, obvi. Steve Feinberg is the master of sculpting a great ass.  as he always says, 'Welcome to Speedball..also known as 'Work that Ass'").  i did not do this intentionally, but the straps of my top matched my kicks!  top & leggings, Lululemon. sneakers, Nike Free.

errands/layering, you know.  pants, The Gap. top, Anthropologie. leather jacket, Banana Republic. scarf, J.Crew. sneakers, Superga.  (i'm OBSESSED with my Superga sneakers).

what i've been listening to...

• Everlasting Light - The Black Keys
• Sistamommalover - Lenny Kravitz
• Radioactive - Imagine Dragons
• Soul of a Man - Beck
• Puppets - Atmosphere
• Missing Pieces - Jack White
• Metamorphosis II - Philip Glass

i do apologize for the lack of outfits... i don't know what i was doing this week!  sometimes time just goes too fast, you know?  i'll do better next week, i promise.  

ok time for my weekly OCD cleaning of my apartment, then spin class, then weekend!

xx